Larry Gibson, 66, a Foe of Mountaintop Mining, Is Dead

Larry Gibson, the retired autoworker who gained national attention for his fight against mountaintop-removal coal mining in his native Appalachia, died of a heart attack on Sunday at his home in West Virginia. He was 66.

For more than two decades, Mr. Gibson campaigned against mountaintop strip mining, which has demolished some 500 mountains in the region over the last 30 years. Several recent studies also link the practice to an increasing incidence of serious health problems among local residents.

He traveled nationally and internationally, speaking to community groups, political rallies, shareholder meetings and government agencies, usually wearing his trademark baseball cap and T-shirt with the motto “Love them or leave them, just don’t destroy them.”

His message came across as a personal one, an attempt to protect the natural environment of the region where his family had lived for over 200 years.
While his approach was peaceful, he sometimes ran afoul of the law. On more than one occasion he was arrested at the Capitol in Washington in concert with groups protesting what they considered lax oversight of the mining industry by the federal government.

In 2009 the federal Environmental Protection Agency began tightening the regulation of mountaintop mining, although the regulations are now facing challenges in court.

He was also a popular subject of documentary filmmakers, many of whom depicted Mr. Gibson as the archetypal little guy fighting for justice against giant corporations. In 2008, he told the filmmaker Ben Evans, “They’ve managed to destroy two and half million acres — I’ve managed to hang on to 50.”

To others in the area who may be reluctant to stand up to the big coal companies, he advised, “Use your anger to get over your fear and get up and change it. You’re the only one who can.”

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